The government is preparing a “fire sale” of land bought for HS2 north of Birmingham in a bid to prevent future administrations from reviving the plans.
According to reports in The Times, vast swathes of land is to be sold off within weeks at a loss of more than £100 million to the taxpayer.
HS2 Ltd, the government-owned company set up to build the project, had bought 2,900 acres of land between Birmingham and Crewe at a cost of £205 million.
Most is agricultural and was bought at a premium under compulsory purchase. It will be sold at market rate or even discounted, resulting in huge losses to the taxpayer.
Sir John Armitt, chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, said opting to sell the land was a “mistake”, as he urged the Government to have “a proper consideration about how best we can connect Birmingham and Manchester and give us that improved capacity that we still need”.
He told the BBC: “I think it’s a mistake. I think that the land should be kept for at least two or three years to give the opportunity for people to revisit that and look at what can be done within that space and find a more cost-effective solution, not write it off today.
“I am disappointed because I think it’s what we often describe as a sort of knee-jerk, snap reaction.”
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